


It Takes Two

by rosyoreo



Category: Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (Cartoon), Tangled (2010)
Genre: Awkward Flirting, Awkward Romance, F/M, Flirting, Fluff, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Gen, Male-Female Friendship, Missing Scene, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-14
Updated: 2020-02-14
Packaged: 2021-02-19 12:17:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,333
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22710706
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rosyoreo/pseuds/rosyoreo
Summary: "It doesn’t just... glow."There’s a million questions running in Eugene’s mind, but he can’t keep them all straight and he wouldn’t even know where to start. He stares in stunned silence at this girl in front of him with confusion until Pascal makes a sound, snapping him back to reality. "Why is he smiling at me?"A short segment following their escape from the tunnel and immediately before the campfire scene.
Relationships: Eugene Fitzherbert | Flynn Rider & Pascal, Eugene Fitzherbert | Flynn Rider/Rapunzel, Pascal & Rapunzel (Disney)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 47





	It Takes Two

“It doesn’t just... glow.”

There’s a million questions running in Eugene’s mind, but he can’t keep them all straight and he wouldn’t even know where to _start_. He stares in stunned silence at this girl in front of him with confusion until Pascal makes a sound, snapping him back to reality. “Why is he smiling at me?”

Rapunzel grins at him, and taking a deep breath, she climbs down from the rock she had perched herself on. After gathering more of her golden locks out of the water, she reaches out a hand to her soaked companion. “I’ll explain everything later, I promise.” She glances out towards the mountains and notices the sun staring to hide behind them. “Come on, we should probably find a spot to rest, it’s getting dark.”

Still shocked, Eugene takes her hand and pulls himself up on shaking legs, inhaling and exhaling deeply. With shaky breathing and flustered gestures, he finally finds his voice. “Yeah. Yeah, uh, I’ll.. Mm. I’ll gather a fire. WOOD. Fuel… Firewood. For a fire. Heh.”

He stumbles into the nearby thicket before he can embarrass himself further, leaving Rapunzel and Pascal on their own. As if on cue, both of their stomachs make a pained grumbling sound, and they glance at each other. “What I wouldn’t give for some hazelnut soup right now,” sighs Rapunzel longingly. Pascal squeaks in agreement and climbs up onto her shoulder. “Well, dinner’s not going to find itself. Let’s go.”

* * *

Before too long, the duo finds a tree full of red apples not too far from the river. It’s nothing gourmet, but it’s food! _We never did get any lunch at the Snuggly Duckling today,_ Rapunzel chuckles at the thought, making a mental note to visit the pub and her new friends on their way home. She opens her mouth to call to Eugene but closes it just as quickly. _Would he be okay with me calling him that now?_ She made a face at the thought. _I’d better hold off on that, I should probably explain the hair situation before I go bothering him with questions about his name and his past._

With Pascals help, she washes as much dirt off the apples as she can before the sun sets. She starts through the forest carrying the clean apples in her dress like a pouch until she finds Eugene. He had cleared a patch of grass next to a fallen tree trunk for them to sit on and is currently knelt over a pile of wood getting ready to start their fire.

“Hey,” Rapunzel speaks as she wanders closer, quietly as though not to startle him. “Do you... Um, do you have a knife or something I could cut these apples with?” she asks slow and unsure. The thief turns at her question, and she can’t make out his features too well in the shadows, it’s hard to tell if his shock has worn off his face. When he speaks, he seems to have returned his old self, to her relief.

“Oh yeah, here.” He grimaces as he moves his scraped hand to grasp a small knife from his pocket, and a fresh wave of guilt washes over Rapunzel. The girl takes the knife and lets her hold linger a moment too long.

“Thanks. And I’m sorry,” She says with a blush and a pain in her chest as she hastily pulls the knife away and plants herself down beside him, their knees barely touching. Eugene’s cheeks turn a rosy shade of pink, and he’s quick to shrug off her concern with a soft encouraging grin Rapunzel has never seen before.

“Nahh, I’ve had worse. I mean, thank you, but it’s really not as bad as it looks, don’t worry.” He starts clicking rocks together until a spark lights up the pile of wood. The pairs eyes adjust to the new light as the fire starts to grow, illuminating the forest around them in a warm, welcoming glow.

Eugene makes his way over to the trunk of the tree and offers a hand for Rapunzel to join him. “Once we get to town, I’ll find something to wrap it with so it doesn’t get infected. We should only have a couple more miles to go.” Rapunzel grasps his hand and follows his lead, taking a seat by his side. The blonde girl smiles gratefully and begins slicing the apples, being careful not to cut herself.

The two grow into comfortable silence, listening to the orange flames crackle as time passes slowly. Pascal makes himself known by stealing a bite or two of a half-sliced apple on the ground near their feet. “Hey you, you’re welcome!” Rapunzel teases. After she finishes cutting the fruit, she offers a handful to her traveling companion, along with the borrowed knife. Eugene nods in quiet thank you and as they start eating, Rapunzel’s thoughts wander back to living in the tower. Never in her entire life could she have predicted the adventures she would have faced today! And all because of Eugene. Sure, he had gotten them into trouble, but he also got them out of it just as many times (with her help no less!) While she misses the warmth of her bed and the comfort of her guitar and paint brushes, she’s giddily anxious and excited to spend her entire birthday exploring a whole new place and seeing even more new things!

“Mmm,” Eugene breaks through her thoughts, muttering with a full mouth of apple, “ _Anything_ tastes amazing when you’ve narrowly escaped death.” He says it lightly, and Rapunzel agrees- Apples have never tasted so sweet.

“I wish I had more ingredients; I would have made us a pie to celebrate being alive!” She exclaims with a laugh, and Eugene nods in between bites.

“You like to cook?” The girl smiles brightly while chewing.

“Oh, all the time! My favorite recipe is this delicious peach cobbler that Mother showed me when I was little.” She takes one a final bite and gazes thoughtfully into the flames, the night air growing colder around their campsite. “We used to spend almost all of our time together, but now that I’m older, she says I don’t need her to look after me as much and is gone most of the day. But we make our own fun, right Pascal?” She smiles down at her green friend beside her, and he makes a happy squeak and nuzzles close to her bare foot. Eugene smiles at the duo as he finishes the rest of his apple slices.

The fire is glowing brighter now, and the three have settled nicely into their makeshift campsite. The silence isn’t awkward, but Eugene can’t wait any longer. "Maybe... maybe this isn’t great timing,” He starts low and hesitantly, “But if I may ask. What is the deal with...” He gestures around at the golden locks surrounding the area and looks back at the girl beside him, raising an eyebrow, “...Your glowing hair?”

Rapunzel follows his gaze, pauses, then shoots Pascal a quick look. She can recognize the chameleon’s knowing nod of encouragement as he leaps out of the way to give them space. She closes her eyes and takes a soft breath, ignoring the loud, nervous thumping of her heart against her chest. _Alright, here we go. I trust him. It’ll be fine._ “Okay... okay. I’ll show you.”

She quietly tugs on a thin strand of blonde and starts looping it around her arm. “May I see your cut?” She asks, strangely more subdued than before. Eugene senses her shift in tone and complies, offering his own hand for her to hold. She takes his large palm in both of hers and studies the injury closely, cradling his wound with care.

He watches her closely, and upon realizing what she’s doing next, a million MORE questions start to play in his head as he says, “You’re being strangely cryptic as you wrap your magic hair around my injured hand.”

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Valentine's Day! <3 I wrote this last year, but I wanted to get it cleaned up and posted in time for all the single people at home reading fanfic about their OTP's to enjoy! Title is from the musical "Into the Woods," I love these two with my whole entire heart
> 
> I'm @rosydraws pretty much everywhere, but also @rosyoreo on my personal tumblr!


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